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Kaneko, Nendo, and Mitsue are sent to make sure that a local tea and sweets merchant is able to conduct her business.

"Tea and Candy: The Sweet Side"

Land of Earth

Kaneko and Mitsue are an unlikely duo when it comes to missioning together. Not because their abilities don't necessarily line up (which they really don't, but that doesn't matter), nor is it because their personalities are so different (though that is also true!). It's the fact that neither can be seen without their other half, per se… So to see Mitsue without Nendo and to see Kaneko without Hotaru may be extremely strange. And yet, here the two are, making deliveries for the local tea shop! Kaneko stands at the front gate, chatting with the one they're supposed to guard, while a random NPC Chuunin is looking quite bored at his own post. "Yeah, I know Otou-san really wants to travel to other lands, but he's so busy here that it makes things difficult. /And/ he says he has to make sure I'm all trained up. So I want to make sure he doesn't have to worry," the girl tells the tea seller.

It was really /really/ surprising that he was on a mission with Kaneko, especially after he'd been actively avoiding not only the girls but also Nendo since the previous day. Yet here he was with her preparing to guard and help with this delivery. Still strange! The teen looks between the others as he arrives before just giving a small nod of greeting to Kaneko and the Chuunin, letting them know he was present and ready for whatever came.

The hospital would be allowed to assault Nendo's brain with all the drugs and healing jutsu that they wished to later on. The fact that Nendo caught sight of Mitsue slinking from the toujitakumi village through the window made it almost impossible for the Toujitakumi to stay in bed. He'd place bandages on the parts that were still healing so the ointments could remain and do its work. In the mean time, Nendo would walk down the wall from the hospital and start off after Mitsue at a fair distance for now. Just close enough that he'd try avoiding being noticed. It gave the Toujitakumi enough time to make sure that his bandages were mostly hidden away in his change of clothes that his father brought him from home over night. Now he just needed to find out what in the world Kaneko and Mitsue were doing and were it was they were going.

"Good, you're both here, now!" The Chuunin would say. He peers a bit between the two genin, and his voice made Kaneko break off her conversation. "Your mission today is, as you might know, delivering tea. You need to keep it safe from any bandits, of course. There's also some sugar in here that kids might be inclined to take… So don't let them. And…" He eyes Nendo as he wanders along over. "YOU! Genin! I recognize you… You're going with these two to deliver the tea. The town is only a mile away, so you really shouldn't run into anything, but… Well, the more the merrier. Don't destroy anything but bandits, though. And travel slow. Some of the stuff inside is breakable… Also, make sure to protect our merchant. That's who pays us." The Chuunin peers at all three of them to make sure they got the mission details.
"Hai! This sounds pretty straightforward!" Kaneko says with a quick salute. She was wearing her traditional shinobi clothes, the cloak across her back bearing the Murasame clan symbol today. She has her sword at her side, as well, and she seems ready for anything. "Ready, Mitsue-kun? Wa- Nendo-sensei, shouldn't you be resting in the hospital?!" she says suddenly, jaw practically dropping to the floor. At least she doesn't seem to be terribly mad at Mitsue. Or maybe she's just setting aside her feelings for the mission… Either way, Mitsue isn't going to suffer because of his earlier actions for now.

Mitsue doesn't seem too put off by Kaneko or anything, he just figured she'd be upset and thus had been avoiding her. Then again he'd been a bit upset himself. Still, a mission is a mission and he needed the money to find his parents, so he'd do it no matter wha-…Nendo?! Mitsue turns and does frown then, not seeming happy at all to see him. He doesn't voice anything, in fact he doesn't cast his auditory genjutsu on anyone. Apparently he's not much in the talking mood for now. He looks to the Chuunin and offers a nod and a small bow of understanding. He was ready to go!

Well, so much for staying out of sight and out of mind.. When the Chuunin mentions noticing him, Nendo frowned but worked quickly to tug his hoood up so that the bandages on his face were more hidden both by his hair and the darkness of his hood. With his forehead protector wrapped around his exposed right arm, Nendo would close the gap between himself and the two that seemed to be making up his team for this mission. Black pants covered his legs and his sandals were replaced by boots for today. Luckily he had kept his gloves safe and could wear them over his hands to ensure that the only parts of him showing off the lingering burns were his right forearm and bicep. The arm wasn't badly damaged but the look on Kaneko's face made him worry a bit that he still looked like a wreck from the healing process. Mitsue's silence was even more disconcerting but he'd move to close in and walk alongside the two of them. "I'm feeling a lot better, the burns were only skin deep so I'm recovering well." Nendo would answer to the young girl with as gentle of a smile as he could before commenting on his own worries. "How's your head? The doctors said it wasn't anything bad but that I really shouldn't be using that kind of an ability in any kind of sparring.. I'll stick to something less dangerous from now on."

Well, with the instructions dealt, the Chuunin would shoo the genin onto the path so they could get going. The merchant casually sat in the driver's seat of his cart, nudging the oxen forward. The cart rattles a bit before it starts to roll forward.
Kaneko frowns at Nendo a bit more. "… Fine, I guess if the Chuunin said you're coming…" she says with a huff. The girl then nods. "It's fine. I just needed some rest to recover. I didn't expect you to use your explosion, really… If I had known, I think I would have been a bit more careful," she admits. Then the cart is moving, and so is she! The starting pace is a slow one, though, so none of them have to rush to catch up or anything.

Mitsue doesn't look at Nendo, instead focusing on the Chuunin, then the cart, then their general surroundings as they start moving. Yeah he's upset still and findout out that Nendo had been stalking him, more or less…well okay it was kind of nice to think that he cared about him enough to stalk him but he was still mad dangit! As they begin moving he would prep some chakra to be on the safe side while continuing to keep an eye around as they began going.

COMBAT: Mitsue focuses 2221 stamina to turn it into 2500 usable chakra!
RPCOMBAT: Mitsue defends against with a PERCEPTION…19

Nendo would smile a bit at hearing that it was only surprise that had really gotten to Kaneko and so he would nod his head but leave it at that. There was no way that the merchant needed to know he was dealing with a Toujitakumi liable to blackout in extreme circumstances. The less the merchant knew the less the Toujitakumi would need to grow stressed and start losing his marbles about. Mitsue's silence was a bit of a blessing and a curse in its own way since he wasn't being assaulted by Genjutsu and told to go home. With that in mind, the Toujitakumi would start to focus his new normal amount of chakra while trying to keep an eye on what he could see, focusing and preparing the proper safety measures in case of an attack. From the looks of it, they were just making some basic deliveries.. it didn't look to be anything that would draw a lot of attention.

COMBAT: Nendo focuses 3824 stamina to turn it into 5000 usable chakra!
RPCOMBAT: Kaneko defends against with a PERCEPTION…25

The group would be able to travel on their merry way! Not much would catch the eyes of Mitsue except for maybe the random animal or two. Tea is quite fragrant, though, there are surprising a number of birds showing up to see what the yummy berry-like scent is coming from. But there's no real threat for now. Kaneko keeps her eyes peeled for anything suspicious, but she also doesn't see much of anything. Then again, this is only the beginning! It shouldn't take more than a half hour to reach their goal, though… And then they would have to make sure their client isn't assaulted.

Mitsue's eyes float over the animals, violet orbs taking them in, marking where and what they are before moving on. Most of them weren't any kind of danger so there wasn't much point in watching them too closely. The birds were interesting and while he glanced skyward at them he dismissed the creatures for now as well. After all, birds were quite unlikely to attack such a group of people just because of tea.

RPCOMBAT: Nendo defends against with a TREMOR-SENSE…36

Nendo was walking just a few paces back from the cart where he could keep an eye on the sides, the front, and feel through the ground for what it was he couldn't see. There was no need to be too high on alert but with Mitsue's voice not singing through his mind, Nendo somehow felt uneasy when they were beyond the walls. He'd really gotten too used ot that voice being in his head commenting on one thing or another. As it was, the least Nendo could do was focus on the vibrations he was recieving to make a basic mental map of the area around them while they moved. It was still fairly familiar teritory so there wasn't much to worry about, right?

The half hour would pass uneventful, and they would reach the next town's entrance. A few guards would step forward, placed there by the Tsuchikage with the Four Stone Blades still around, and they would call out, "Halt! Who goes there? State your name and business!" The merchant would sigh. "Kawayami Orina, tea merchant. I would like to sell some tea. I have a few genin with me to keep me safe."
Kaneko would step forward, then. "Murasame Kaneko! I'm here to protect Kawayami-san!" she tells the guards in a confident tone. She would have occasionally glanced back to Nendo and Mitsue as they were traveling because the pair were so quiet, but she didn't say anything. Maybe they just needed some thinking time…

Mitsue blinked a bit in surprise when the guards stepped forward to challenge them. WAs the presence of the various Iwa hitai-ate not enough? The young Gansao would frown faintly under his hood but say nothing as he just watched the guards. After all, not much he really /could/ say. If they pressed he'd give the guards one of his cards, but he wasn't going to approach them from out of the blue to do so.

Nendo would tilt his head to see the guards clearly past the cart and then shift his right arm to show the forehead protector strapped around it as a bit of proof as to who they were Talking wasn't quite as fun but the Toujitakumi would comment in a brief manner. "Toujitakumi, Nendo of Iwagakure. Guard duty." The older teen would spell out without really moving from his position. He was comfortable right where he was and it made him have an easier time hiding any twitches or flinches when walking behind the cart in comparison to the other two

The guards continue to peer at the trio of genin and the merchant, but then they nod and let them all through. Better to be safe than sorry, at least? The cart would make its way through the gates, and apparently the children recognized the cart as they would begin to assault the cart! "Yayy!! Candy! It's here!" calls the chorus as they try and clamber onto then into the cart. Orina would just laugh and try to shoo them away. "Wait until I get set up, you rascals!" she scolds. The woman would force the kids to get back so the cart would be in the center of town. Kaneko was assigned to take the oxen to some fields while Nendo and Mitsue are assigned to help the woman set up shop.

Wait…candy? Wasn't it tea? Ah well, who cares. Mitsue would follow the cart into the village and move to help set up the kiosk as he was told to do. He still didn't speak to anyone and his dark chakra remained well within himself as he moved to follow the woman and do wahtever it was that she might ask. He really didn't care what it was…he really didn't seem to care about much of anything right now as he simply does what's necessary.

Nendo would nod and do most of the heavy work for the set up with the reasoning that he'd shame himself by having Mitsue or a woman do it when he was perfectly able to lift and move around tea, candy, or anything else that was needed in the setting up process of the kiosk. What kind of a self-respecting big guy would be be if he were to let everyone else do the hard work for him just because of some petty little burns that were almost completely healed. Hopefully after this he could sneak back home and explain to Mitsue that they weren't trying to hurt eachother.. or at least Kaneko and himself weren't. Hotaru would be reasoned away as just being.. overzealous.

It's both! The woman needs to cater to more than one type of customer, after all. She has tea for adults and sugar/candy for the younger ones, most of which she hands out freely to the ones that come up and approach her. She had a number of different crates, most of them tea, and she would have them be set up under a tent while the candies were left in the cart.
Kaneko would come back after leading the oxen, ready for a busy day! "I think everything is good now!" she reports. "I can help with unloading if needed!" Of course, Nendo and Mitsue are able to finish without her, so… The girl ends up gathering customers with some advertising! She keeps an eye out for any thieves while she's at it.

RPCOMBAT: Kaneko defends against with a PERCEPTION…15

Mitsue finishes helping set up, leaving the heavy lifting to Nendo despite his burns. Yep, he has absolutely zero shame when it comes to that. Maybe the pain will make Nendo rethink what happened because it sure as heck didn't make Mitsue happy! Once things are set up he takes up position behind the merchant, violet eyes scanning the crowds as they near to make sure everyone kept their greedy grubby little hands to themselves. Luckily there's no Amaro nearby.

RPCOMBAT: Mitsue defends against with a PERCEPTION…26
RPCOMBAT: Nendo defends against with a TREMOR-SENSE…20

Nendo would roll his shoulders slowly while letting out a bit of a sigh and then moving around to stand opposite of Mitsue and give the younger teen the space he needed. The arrival of an energetic Kaneko put a smile on Nendo's face though as he watched the girl returning and gave a bit of a nod of his head to her. "I think we're all done unloading but maybe you can help with advertising the stand or making the sales." Nendo reasoned in a bit of a calm tone of voice.

"Good idea, Nendo-sensei!" Kaneko would go climb on top of the cart and start yelling. "Tea and candy! Tea and candy! Get some here! They're both pretty local, and they taste really good! Get it while it's hot!" And even with all this commotion and Shinobi watching for thieves, there always has to be one… A hand would dart out and snatch some candies though only Mitsue would notice…

Mitsue would be keeping a close eye on things and, upon seeing the hand snatch some candy he would frown even more than he already was in his ever going ignoring of Nendo. A set of hand seals sends a wave of terror out towards the poor thief, attempting to hold them in place as a figure of dark terror would appear directly in front of them.

COMBAT: Mitsue attacks target 1 with OPPRESSIVE-FIGURE with a roll of: 26
RPCOMBAT: Nendo defends against with a TREMOR-SENSE…25

Nendo wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed right now but he knew the hand seals Mitsue was using and would move from his position to search for the one that was being attacked by Mitsue. He'd focus on the vibrations that he knew he himself put off when trapped in the illusions that Mitsue could put out. Terror shakes, and a frightened posture would be needed to be found and if Nendo could manage it, he would take hold of the thief by the arms so that Mitsue could let them loose from the genjutsu. Prolonged exposure might be dangerous with an ordinary person when they're facing off against Mitsue's genjutsu.

A quiet whimper, and then the little thief would cry out. "M… MOMMY!!!" a little boy would cry out, and he burst into tears. The mom would dart over from looking at he different tea being offered and she would start trying to soothe the boy. Kaneko was a bit oblivious to all of it, though, so she would just keep on trying to attract customers.

When the young thief would cry out Mitsue would drop the genjutsu and frown. Great, just what he needed to do, to frighten a small boy and give him nightmares for the rest of his life. Mitsue would use some ryo to buy a small bag of candy before moving towards the boy and crouching down next to him and his mommy, violet eyes watching him before he held out the bag of candy. He would also write out 'I made the scary man go away, but no more stealing' on a piece of paper before giving him a pat on the head.

When the boy cried out, Nendo kept a hold of him until the boy's mother came by and he could explain that he caught him while trying to persue a thief but.. with a moment's pause, said that the thief was a bit taller to spare the boy from getting hurt too badly with a spanking. When Mitsue came by to give him the candy, Nendo would smile and step away to pay mind to the stand while letting Mitsue make sure that the boy saw whatever he needed to on that piece of paper. Sometimes a simple life-threatening terror was enough to straighten out the worst of thieves.

The young boy would sniffle after he was calmed down, ready eyes looking at the sheet of paper. "H… Hai.." he says, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. He would take the candy and now in thanks while the mother would just smile to the two Shinobi. The rest of the selling would go smoothly with no sign of thievery, and the group would return to Iwa with little issue as well. "Thank you for the help~," the merchant would say happily, handing each genin a small bag of candy.

Mitsue returned to his post to watch again until things were done. Only then would he relax once things had calmed down and the merchant was done for the day. When given the candy he would give a bow of thanks to the merchant before slipping the bag within his cloak. He would eat some of it later…

Nendo would smile and thank the woman for the candy that he was given and tuck it away into his pouch for the moment. After all, he was gone longer than he had planned and now had to do something he'd been dreading the whole way back.. He had to man up, suck in his gut, and tell the very very VERY angry nurses that he was checking out of the hospital several hours after his great escape.. He was going to be in trouble.